Golf Balls with Clusters of Dimples Having Non-Uniform Dimple Profiles

ABSTRACT

Golf balls include an exterior cover having a plurality of dimples arranged thereon, wherein from 5 to 95% of the dimples have a non-uniform dimple profile. At least a majority of the dimples having a non-uniform dimple profile on the golf ball body may be arranged in 2-24 repeating dimple clusters on the exterior surface of the ball. In some example structures, the exterior surface of the ball will include from 4-18 repeating dimple clusters, from 4-12 repeating dimple clusters, or even from 6-10 repeating dimple clusters.

RELATED APPLICATION DATA

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.12/559,146 filed Sep. 14, 2009 in the name of David A. Goodwin andentitled “Golf Balls with Clusters of Dimples having Non-Uniform DimpleProfiles.” This prior application is entirely incorporated herein byreference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates generally to golf balls that include clusters ofdimples having non-uniform dimple profiles and methods of making suchballs.

BACKGROUND

Conventional golf balls include several dimples on their cover, e.g., toimprove ball flight by providing lift to the ball and promotingestablishment of a turbulent air flow (to reduce aerodynamic drag).While many different dimple types exist (e.g., different sizes, shapes,cross sectional profiles, etc.), most conventional dimples onconventional golf balls have a generally round perimeter or edge shape(e.g., a round appearance for the dimple edge or perimeter when viewedfrom above).

Also, conventional round dimples of the types described above alsotypically have a cross sectional profile such that the majority of thesurface of the dimple (i.e., the areas of the dimple surface away fromthe very edge) corresponds to the arc of a circle. In other words, aconventional dimple will have the majority of its surface correspondingto a portion of a sphere. FIGS. 1A and 1B help illustrate thisconventional design. As shown in FIG. 1A, in a conventional golf ball 10design, all of the dimples 12 on the ball 10 (only a portion of whichare shown) are arranged such that radial lines R running from the centerC of the overall ball structure 10 will also intersect the center C_(d)of each dimple. In other words, a radius R through the center C of thegolf ball 100 will align with a radius Rd of the spherical shape fromwhich the majority of the dimple surface S_(d) is formed.

FIG. 1B illustrates an individual conventional dimple 12 in greaterdetail (e.g., like the dimple 12 in the upper right portion of FIG. 1A).As shown in this figure, the center C_(d) of the dimple surface S_(d)(as shown by the location of the dimple tangent line T_(d)) and the balltangent line T_(b) centered over that dimple (assuming that the ballsurface S is a perfect sphere without dimples) are aligned such that asingle line passes through both the ball center C (shown in FIG. 1A andnot in FIG. 1B) and the dimple center C_(d) at the ball and dimpletangent points. In other words, in this conventional ball design 10, thedimple(s) 12 are symmetrically oriented such that the dimple radius Rd(through its center point C_(d)) extends in the same direction as aradial axis R from the dimple center C_(d) and through the ball centerpoint C. Notably, in this illustrated arrangement, the dimple tangentline T_(d) is parallel to the ball tangent line T_(b). This highlysymmetrical and aligned type of dimple structure, as used herein, may bereferred to as a “tangential dimple” or a “conventional dimple.” Often,all dimples on a given golf ball structure will have this tangential orconventional dimple orientation.

While these conventional dimple structures provide known aerodynamiceffects on golf ball structures, there is room for improvement in theart. For example, by providing non-uniform dimple designs, dimpleprofiles, and dimple patterns on a golf ball, the lift, drag, and otheraerodynamic properties of a golf ball structure can be altered andcontrolled.

SUMMARY

The following presents a general summary of aspects of this invention inorder to provide a basic understanding of at least some aspects of theinvention. This summary is not intended as an extensive overview of theinvention. It is not intended to identify key or critical elements ofthe invention or to delineate the scope of the invention. The followingsummary merely presents some concepts of the invention in a general formas a prelude to the more detailed description provided below.

Aspects of this invention relate generally to golf ball structures thatinclude: a golf ball body including a cover having a plurality ofdimples arranged on an exterior surface thereof, wherein from 5 to 95%of the dimples have a non-uniform dimple profile. In such structures, atleast a majority of the dimples having a non-uniform dimple profile onthe golf ball body may be arranged in 2-24 repeating dimple clusters onthe exterior surface of the ball. In some examples of this invention,the exterior surface of the ball will include from 4-18 repeating dimpleclusters, from 4-12 repeating dimple clusters, or even from 6-10repeating dimple clusters.

Additional aspects of this invention relate to methods of producing golfballs of the types described above. Such methods may include: (a)forming a golf ball interior; and (b) forming a cover to enclose thegolf ball interior, wherein the cover is formed to include a pluralityof dimples arranged on an exterior surface thereof, wherein from 5 to95% of the dimples have a non-uniform dimple profile, and wherein atleast a majority of the dimples having a non-uniform dimple profile onthe golf ball body are arranged in 2-24 repeating dimple clusters on theexterior surface.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

A more complete understanding of the present invention and certainadvantages thereof may be acquired by referring to the followingdescription in consideration with the accompanying drawings, in whichlike reference numbers indicate like features, and wherein:

FIGS. 1A and 1B illustrate features of conventional or “uniform” dimplestructures as are known and used in the art;

FIGS. 2A through 2D illustrate example features of non-uniform dimplesin accordance with at least some examples of this invention;

FIGS. 3A through 3D illustrate one example of a generally triangulardimple cluster arrangement in accordance with this invention;

FIGS. 4A and 4B illustrate another example of a generally triangulardimple cluster arrangement on a golf ball in accordance with thisinvention;

FIGS. 5 through 7 illustrate examples of generally hexagonal dimplecluster arrangements in accordance with this invention;

FIG. 8 illustrates another example of a generally hexagonal dimplecluster arrangement in accordance with this invention;

FIG. 9 illustrates an example of a generally pentagonal dimple clusterarrangement in accordance with this invention;

FIGS. 10A through 13B illustrate various examples of non-uniform dimplecluster arrangements on golf ball structures in accordance with thisinvention; and

FIGS. 14A and 14B illustrate additional potential features that may beincluded in non-uniform dimple structures in accordance with at leastsome examples of this invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In the following description of various examples of the invention,reference is made to the accompanying drawings, which form a parthereof, and in which are shown by way of illustration various examplesystems and environments in which aspects of the invention may bepracticed. It is to be understood that other specific arrangements ofparts, example systems, components, and environments may be utilized andstructural and functional modifications may be made to the describedarrangements and systems without departing from the scope of the presentinvention. Also, while the terms “top,” “bottom,” “side,” “front,”“back,” “above,” “below,” “under,” “over,” and the like may be used inthis specification to describe various example features and elements ofthe invention, these terms are used herein as a matter of convenience,e.g., based on the example orientations shown in the figures and/or atypical orientation during a typical use. Nothing in this specificationshould be construed as requiring a specific three dimensionalorientation of structures in order to fall within the scope of thisinvention.

In this specification, various golf ball structures are described inwhich “non-uniform dimples” are arranged in a plurality of “clusters” onthe golf ball surface. A “non-uniform dimple,” as that term is usedherein, unless otherwise noted or clear from the context, means dimpleshaving a cross sectional shape (when cut through the center of thedimple in the radial direction of the ball) that is not symmetric aboutthe center point of the dimple. Some “non-uniform dimples” will beshaped so as to have: (a) a deeper and/or steeper half and (b) ashallower and/or more gently sloped half. The deeper and/or steeper halfmay be visually discernible on at least some dimple structures inaccordance with examples of this invention. Other “non-uniform dimples”may have internal bumps or other structures within the dimple.

To be include in a “cluster,” a non-uniform dimple must be locatedimmediately adjacent at least one other non-uniform dimple of the sameor of a different structure. To be considered “immediately adjacent,” afirst non-uniform dimple must be located with respect to a secondnon-uniform dimple such that a straight line or arc along the surface ofthe ball between the first dimple and the second dimple can be drawnthat does not intersect another dimple. The “cluster” corresponds to allof the non-uniform dimples located within an unbroken chain of“immediately adjacent” non-uniform dimples. If desired, the “cluster”may be repeated at various locations on a ball structure.

A. General Description of Example Golf Ball Structures and ExampleMethods of Making Golf Balls According to the Invention

Golf ball structures in accordance with at least some examples of thisinvention may include: a golf ball body including a cover having aplurality of dimples arranged on an exterior surface thereof, whereinfrom 5 to 95% of the dimples have a non-uniform dimple profile. In suchstructures, at least a majority of the dimples having a non-uniformdimple profile on the golf ball body may be arranged in 2-24 repeatingdimple clusters on the exterior surface of the ball. In some examples ofthis invention, the exterior surface of the ball will include from 4-18repeating dimple clusters, from 4-12 repeating dimple clusters, or evenfrom 6-10 repeating dimple clusters.

In at least some golf ball structures in accordance with examples ofthis invention, the golf ball body will include a first pole, a secondpole opposite the first pole, and an equator evenly spaced between thefirst and second poles so as to divide the golf ball body into a firsthemisphere including the first pole and a second hemisphere includingthe second pole. In such structures, one half (or some other proportion)of the repeating dimple clusters may be located on the first hemisphereand the other half (or some other proportion) of the repeating dimpleclusters may be located on the second hemisphere. If desired, therepeating dimple clusters in each hemisphere will be symmetricallyarranged with respect to the pole of that hemisphere, and the clustersin one hemisphere may align with or be staggered from the clusters inthe other hemisphere (e.g., such that the centers of the dimple clustersin the first hemisphere do not align with the centers of the dimpleclusters in the second hemisphere along any great circle extendingbetween the first and second poles). If desired, each hemisphere mayinclude from 2-9 repeating dimple clusters, from 2-6 repeating dimpleclusters, or even from 3-5 repeating dimple clusters. Also, if desired,a single hemisphere may include two or more different dimple clusterarrangements that optionally may be repeated around that hemisphere ofthe golf ball surface.

In some golf ball structures in accordance with examples of thisinvention, the golf ball surface will include: (a) a first hemispherewith N dimple clusters having their centers arranged 360/N degrees apartwith respect to a circumferential direction around a first pole of theball, and (b) a second hemisphere with M dimple clusters having theircenters arranged 360/M degrees apart with respect to a circumferentialdirection around a second pole of the ball, wherein N=M and wherein Nand M are integers between 2 and 20. If desired, the centers of thedimple clusters in the first hemisphere may be arranged 360/2N degreesapart from the centers of the dimple clusters in the second hemispherewith respect to the circumferential direction of the ball. In somestructures, N and M may be integers between 2 and 12, or even integersbetween 2 and 8.

A golf ball structure may have two or more clusters of dimples havingdifferent non-uniform dimple patterns or arrangements. The variousdimple clusters on a given golf ball structure may have the same numberof dimples having a non-uniform dimple profile or different numbers ofdimples having a non-uniform dimple profile. Each dimple cluster mayinclude, for example, from 2 to 36 dimples having a non-uniform dimpleprofile, and in some examples, from 4 to 30 dimples having a non-uniformdimple profile, from 6 to 24 dimples having a non-uniform dimpleprofile, or even from 8 to 20 dimples having a non-uniform dimpleprofile. In some more specific example structures according to thisaspect of the invention, wherein the golf ball body includes a firstpole, a second pole opposite the first pole, and an equator evenlyspaced between the first and second poles so as to divide the golf ballbody into a first hemisphere including the first pole and a secondhemisphere including the second pole, the first hemisphere may include afirst dimple cluster having a first dimple cluster pattern arrangementand a second dimple cluster having a second dimple cluster patternarrangement that differs from the first dimple cluster patternarrangement, and the second hemisphere may include a third dimplecluster having the first dimple cluster pattern arrangement and a fourthdimple cluster having the second dimple cluster pattern arrangement.Additional dimple cluster pattern arrangements also may be provided insuch structures, if desired.

A variety of arrangements of the dimple clusters are possible withoutdeparting from this invention. For example, in a golf ball structurethat includes a first pole, a second pole opposite the first pole, andan equator evenly spaced between the first and second poles so as todivide the golf ball body into a first hemisphere including the firstpole and a second hemisphere including the second pole, the dimpleclusters may be arranged such that none of the clusters containingdimples having a non-uniform dimple profile extends across the equator.Alternatively, if desired, the dimple clusters may be arranged such thatat least two of the clusters containing dimples having a non-uniformdimple profile extend across the equator. In some structures, at leastfour clusters or even at least six clusters containing dimples having anon-uniform dimple profile will extend across the equator.

As noted above (and as will be described in more detail below), thenon-uniform dimples may be structured such that the dimple profile orcross section includes a deep and/or steep side and a shallow and/ormore gently sloped side. In such structures, the dimple profiles may bearranged on the ball in a variety of different manners. For example, ifdesired, the non-uniform dimples in a cluster may be arranged such thatthe dimple profiles are aligned with one another (e.g., with the steepsides of adjacent non-uniform dimples pointing the same direction) orthe non-uniform dimples in a cluster may be arranged such that thedimple profiles are oriented facing opposite directions (e.g., with thesteep sides of adjacent non-uniform dimples pointing in opposingdirections). As additional examples, if desired, the non-uniform dimplesin a cluster may be arranged such that: (a) the shallow side of eachdimple having a non-uniform dimple profile is arranged so as to beclosest to a geometric center of the dimple cluster in which it iscontained or (b) the deep side of each dimple having a non-uniformdimple profile is arranged so as to be closest to a geometric center ofthe dimple cluster in which it is contained. As another example, ifdesired, for each dimple cluster, one half (or some other portion) ofthe dimples having a non-uniform dimple profile in the dimple clustermay be arranged to have their shallow side closest to a geometric centerof the dimple cluster and the other half (or the remaining portion) ofthe dimples having a non-uniform dimple profile in the dimple clustermay be arranged to have their deep side closest to the geometric centerof the dimple cluster.

Any desired dimple cluster arrangements may be provided withoutdeparting from this invention. As some more specific examples, thedimple clusters including non-uniform dimples may be arranged in apolygonal configuration having from 3-20 sides, such as in a generallyoverall triangular configuration, a generally overall square orrectangular configuration, a generally pentagonal configuration, agenerally hexagonal configuration, and a generally octagonalconfiguration, etc. In other cluster arrangements, a continuous chain ofthree to ten immediately adjacent non-uniform dimples will surround oneor more dimples having a uniform or conventional dimple profile. In somemore specific example structures of this type, a continuous chain offive dimples having a non-uniform dimple profile surround one or twoconventional dimples, or a continuous chain of six dimples having anon-uniform dimple profile surround one or two conventional dimples.

An individual cluster may contain both non-uniform and uniform (orconventional) dimples. While a cluster may contain any numbers ofnon-uniform and uniform dimples, in at least some example structures inaccordance with this invention, at least 30% of the dimples within anindividual cluster will be non-uniform dimples, and in some examples, atleast 50%, at least 75%, or even at least 90% of the dimples may benon-uniform. If desired, 100% of the dimples within a cluster may benon-uniform dimples.

A golf ball in accordance with examples of this invention may includeany desired number of overall dimples (uniform and non-uniform), such asfrom 200 to 800 total dimples. The percentage of non-uniform dimples onthe ball (with respect to the total number of dimples on the ball), mayrange from 10% to 90%, from 20% to 80%, or even from 30% to 70%. Inabsolute numbers, the number of non-uniform dimples on the ballstructure may range from 20 to 720, and in some example structures, from24 to 432, from 48 to 384, or even from 72 to 336. For dimples that havea surface portion following the arc of a circle (both uniform andnon-uniform dimples), the dimple radius may be in the range from 3 mm to26 mm, and in some examples from 4 mm to 24 mm, from 4 mm to 20 mm, oreven from 5 mm to 16 mm. Overall dimple diameters (both uniform andnon-uniform dimples) may vary broadly, for example, from 1 mm to 8 mm,and in some examples, from 1.5 mm to 6 mm, or even from 2 mm to 5 mm.Overall dimple depths at the deepest location on the dimple also mayvary broadly, such as from 0.05 mm to 0.5 mm, and in some examples, from0.075 mm to 0.4 mm, or even from 0.1 mm to 0.3 mm.

As some more specific examples, aspects of this invention relate to golfballs including: (a) a core having one or more individual parts; and (b)a cover member enclosing the core, wherein the golf ball includes afirst pole, a second pole opposite the first pole, and an equator evenlyspaced between the first and second poles so as to divide the golf ballbody into a first hemisphere including the first pole and a secondhemisphere including the second pole. In the first hemisphere, the covermember includes 3-5 repeating non-uniform dimple clusters arrangedaround the first pole; wherein each non-uniform dimple cluster in thefirst hemisphere includes from 2 to 36 non-uniform dimples arranged suchthat each non-uniform dimple in the cluster is located immediatelyadjacent at least one other non-uniform dimple in the cluster; wherein amajority of the non-uniform dimples in each cluster have an axis ofsymmetry, a first end centered on the axis of symmetry, and a second endcentered on the axis of symmetry; and wherein the first end is deeperthan or has a steeper entry angle than the second end. In the secondhemisphere, the cover member includes 3-5 repeating non-uniform dimpleclusters arranged around the second pole, wherein each non-uniformdimple cluster in the second hemisphere includes from 2 to 36non-uniform dimples arranged such that each non-uniform dimple in thecluster is located immediately adjacent at least one other non-uniformdimple in the cluster; wherein a majority of the non-uniform dimples ineach cluster have an axis of symmetry, a first end centered on the axisof symmetry, and a second end centered on the axis of symmetry; andwherein the first end is deeper than or has a steeper entry angle thanthe second end. At least one of the 3-5 non-uniform dimple clusters inthe first hemisphere is arranged in a first pattern and at least one ofthe 3-5 non-uniform dimple clusters in the second hemisphere is arrangedin the first pattern. The non-uniform dimple clusters may have any ofthe arrangements and/or orientations described above (and thosedescribed in more detail below).

Additional aspects of this invention relate to methods of producing golfballs of any of the various types described above. Such methods mayinclude, for example: (a) forming a golf ball interior (e.g., includinga solid core having one or more independent layers, a thread wound core,a liquid-containing or gel-containing core, etc.); and (b) forming acover to enclose the golf ball interior, wherein the cover is formed toinclude a plurality of dimples arranged on an exterior surface thereof,wherein from 5 to 95% of the dimples have a non-uniform dimple profile,and wherein at least a majority of the dimples having a non-uniformdimple profile on the golf ball body are arranged in 2-24 repeatingdimple clusters on the exterior surface. The cover may include any oneor more of the various features or characteristics described in moredetail above (and/or features or characteristics described in moredetail below).

As some more specific examples, additional aspects of this inventioninclude methods of forming golf balls that include: (a) forming a coreincluding one or more individual parts; and (b) forming a cover memberenclosing the core, wherein the golf ball includes a first pole, asecond pole opposite the first pole, and an equator evenly spacedbetween the first and second poles so as to divide the golf ball bodyinto a first hemisphere including the first pole and a second hemisphereincluding the second pole. In the first hemisphere, the cover member isformed to include 3-5 repeating non-uniform dimple clusters arrangedaround the first pole; wherein each non-uniform dimple cluster in thefirst hemisphere is formed to include from 2 to 36 non-uniform dimplesarranged such that each non-uniform dimple in the cluster is locatedimmediately adjacent at least one other non-uniform dimple in thecluster; wherein a majority of the non-uniform dimples in each clusterhave an axis of symmetry, a first end centered on the axis of symmetry,and a second end centered on the axis of symmetry; and wherein the firstend is deeper than or has a steeper entry angle than the second end. Inthe second hemisphere, the cover member is formed to include 3-5repeating non-uniform dimple clusters arranged around the second pole,wherein each non-uniform dimple cluster in the second hemisphere isformed to include from 2 to 36 non-uniform dimples arranged such thateach non-uniform dimple in the cluster is located immediately adjacentat least one other non-uniform dimple in the cluster; wherein a majorityof the non-uniform dimples in each cluster have an axis of symmetry, afirst end centered on the axis of symmetry, and a second end centered onthe axis of symmetry; and wherein the first end is deeper than or has asteeper entry angle than the second end. At least one of the 3-5non-uniform dimple clusters in the first hemisphere is arranged in afirst pattern and at least one of the 3-5 non-uniform dimple clusters inthe second hemisphere is arranged in the first pattern. The non-uniformdimple clusters may be formed to include any of the arrangements and/ororientations described above (and those described in more detail below).

The ball interiors and/or covers may be formed in any desired mannerwithout departing from this invention, including in conventional mannersthat are known and used in the art, such as by casting the layers, bymolding the various layers (e.g., injection molding), etc. The molds orother structures for forming the cover layers to include the non-uniformdimples may be produced in any desired manner without departing fromthis invention, including through the use of molding, casting,machining, grinding, or other techniques, including through the use ofprecision grinding equipment for producing golf ball cover cavities, asare known and used in the art. Such grinding equipment may be computercontrolled and programmed to cut the various desired dimple patternarrangements into the interior cavity of the mold structure, in a mannerthat is known and conventionally used in the art.

B. Specific Examples of the Invention

The various figures in this application illustrate examples of variousgolf ball structures and methods of making such golf ball structuresaccording to examples of this invention. When the same reference numberappears in more than one drawing, that reference number is usedconsistently in this specification and the drawings to refer to the sameor similar parts throughout.

As noted above, aspects of this invention relate to golf ball structureshaving clusters of non-uniform dimples. FIGS. 2A through 2D illustrateone example of a non-uniform dimple structure 100 that may be used inaccordance with at least some examples of this invention. FIGS. 2A and2B illustrate a cross-section profile of this non-uniform dimple example100 to show various features (taken along axis 102 in FIG. 2C), FIG. 2Cillustrates an overhead view of this non-uniform dimple example 100(e.g., when viewed looking at the ball exterior), and FIG. 2Dillustrates how the edge or perimeter P_(d) this example non-uniformdimple structure 100 differs from the edge or perimeter P a conventionalround dimple structure (shown in broken lines in FIG. 2D). As shown inthese figures, the dimple surface S_(d) is formed in the ball structuresuch that the dimple 100 is symmetric across one axis 102 (e.g., amirror image) and asymmetric across the perpendicular axis 104 thereto.

Moreover, as best illustrated in FIGS. 2A and 2B, the non-uniform dimple100 defines a surface structure S_(d) in which one half 100 a of thedimple 100 (i.e., the left half in FIGS. 2A and 2B and the upper half100 a above axis 104 in FIG. 2C) includes a relatively deep and/orsteeply sloped edge entry angle or surface 106 and the other half 100 b(i.e., the right half in FIGS. 2A and 2B and the lower half 100 b belowaxis 104 in FIG. 2C) includes a relatively shallow and/or gently slopededge entry angle or surface 108. As shown in FIG. 2B, the entry anglesα_(steep) and α_(shallow) may be measured as the angle between: (a) atangent T_(b) to the golf ball surface at the dimple edge P_(d) location(assuming the ball is a perfect sphere without dimples) and (b) atangent T_(d) to the actual dimple surface S_(d) at the dimple edgelocation P_(d). In making these measurements, the edge locations P_(d)should be located adjacent to the steepest and shallowest slopes on thedimple structure (e.g., at the intersections of axis 102 and the dimpleperimeter P_(d) in the example structure illustrated in FIGS. 2A through2D). In some example structures in accordance with this invention, theentry angle α_(steep) will be greater than the entry angle α_(shallow)and may be within the range of 20° to 120° (and in some examples, withinthe range of 30° to 90° or even within the range of 40° to 60°), and theentry angle α_(shallow) will be less than the entry angle α_(steep) andmay be within the range of 10° to 80° (and in some examples, within therange of 15° to 75° or even within the range of 20° to 50°). Also, inthis dimple structure 100, as shown in FIG. 2A, the deepest dimple depthDD is located away from the dimple's geometric center C and in dimplehalf 100 a.

As illustrated in FIGS. 2C and 2D, the dimple perimeter edge P_(d) ofthis example structure may be somewhat out of round. More specifically,in this example structure, using axes 102 and 104 as the geometriccenter lines for the dimple, the upper half 100 a of the dimplestructure 100 is somewhat larger than a circle structure (as shown bydashed lines in FIG. 2D) oriented at the geometric center of the dimple100 and having a diameter D corresponding to the length of axes 102 and104 (which have the same length in this example structure 100), and thelower half 100 b of the dimple structure 100 is somewhat smaller thanthis same circle structure.

Example non-uniform dimple clusters in accordance with this inventionwill be described beginning with FIGS. 3A through 3D. FIGS. 3A and 3Billustrate examples of individual non-uniform dimple clusters 300 and350, respectively, while FIGS. 3C and 3D illustrate an example of anarrangement of a plurality of at least one of these non-uniform dimpleclusters 300, 350 on a golf ball 320. As shown in FIG. 3A, thisnon-uniform dimple “cluster” includes plural non-uniform dimples 302located immediately adjacent at least one other non-uniform dimple 302.Notably, in the cluster shown in FIG. 3A, each non-uniform dimple 302 islocated such that it may be connected with at least one othernon-uniform dimple 302 by a straight line or arc 304 along the surfaceof the ball without intersecting a uniform or conventional dimple. The“cluster” 300 in this illustrated example corresponds to all of thenon-uniform dimples 302 located within an unbroken chain of “immediatelyadjacent” non-uniform dimples 302, which generally forms a triangulararrangement of dimples. In this illustrated example, all dimples of the“cluster” are non-uniform dimples 302 (in the drawings includedherewith, the non-uniform dimples are distinguished from uniform orconventional dimples by an arrow element (e.g., extending along axis 102shown in FIG. 2C, in this example), wherein the arrowhead points to theshallow half of the dimple 302 (toward shallow half 100 b shown in FIG.2C)), and each dimple cluster 300 includes 15 total non-uniform dimples300. Notably, in the arrangement shown in FIG. 3A, the non-uniformdimples 302 are arranged so that their axes 102 and their shallow halves100 b are oriented to point toward the geometric center C of the dimplecluster 300. Optionally, if desired, the center C may be defined by adimple, either a uniform, conventional dimple or a non-uniform dimplethat may be included within the overall cluster arrangement 300.

FIG. 3B shows another dimple cluster arrangement 350 that is similar tothe arrangement 300 shown in FIG. 3A. In the arrangement 350 shown inFIG. 3B, however, the non-uniform dimples 302 are arranged so that theiraxes 102 and their shallow halves 100 b are oriented to point directlyaway from the geometric center C of the dimple cluster 350. Optionally,if desired, the center C may be defined by a dimple, either a uniform,conventional dimple or a non-uniform dimple.

FIGS. 3C and 3D illustrate an example arrangement of the dimple clusters300 and/or 350 on a golf ball 320. Golf balls 320 may be considered ashaving two opposite poles P, one at the top of the ball 320 and one atthe bottom of the ball 320, and an equator E corresponding to a greatcircle situated midway between the poles P that divides the ball 320into an upper hemisphere 322 and a lower hemisphere 324. While not arequirement, the poles P may correspond to the uppermost and lowermosttangents of a mold structure used to create the balls 320 (andparticularly to the molds for forming the ball cover), and the equator Emay correspond to the parting line between the two mold halves. In otherstructures, the poles P and equator E may be located at other locationson the ball vis-à-vis the ball producing mold structures (e.g., theequator E need not correspond to the mold parting line, particularly formolds used in making “seamless” balls). As shown in the top view of FIG.3C, the dimple clusters 300, 350 may be arranged such that they aresymmetrically or evenly spaced around the pole P. The bottom view (notshown) will look similar to the top view. Furthermore, as shown in thefront view of FIG. 3D, the dimple clusters 300, 350 may be arranged suchthat the dimple clusters 300, 350 in the top hemisphere 322 (e.g., thegeometric centers of the dimple clusters 300, 350) do not align with thedimple clusters 300, 350 in the bottom hemisphere 324 (e.g., thegeometric centers of the dimple clusters 300, 350). Rather, as shown inFIG. 3D, the dimple clusters 300, 350 in the bottom hemisphere 324 maybe staggered with respect to the dimple clusters 300, 350 in the tophemisphere 322 such that the overall dimple cluster arrangements 300,350 are symmetrically arranged about the center of the golf ball 320.

All of the dimple clusters on a given ball may have the same overallnon-uniform dimple count, structure, and orientation, or any one or moreof these features may differ without departing from this invention. Inat least some example ball structures in accordance with this invention,the various non-uniform dimple clusters will be arranged in an overallsymmetrical manner over the entirety of the ball surface with respect tothe ball's center point. The non-uniform dimple clusters 300, 350 may bearranged such that the exterior-most non-uniform dimples are surroundedoutside the clusters 300, 350 by only uniform or conventional dimples.For purposes of clarity and to better illustrate the dimple clusterarrangements on the ball 320, the individual dimples are not shown inFIGS. 3C and 3D.

Also, golf ball structures in accordance with examples of this inventionmay have any desired number of non-uniform dimple clusters arrangedaround the ball's poles P without departing from this invention. As amore specific example, if desired, each hemisphere may include from 2-9repeating dimple clusters, and in some examples, from 2-6 repeatingdimple clusters, or even from 3-5 repeating dimple clusters. A singlehemisphere may include two or more different dimple cluster arrangementsthat optionally may be repeated around that hemisphere of the golf ballsurface.

In some golf ball structures in accordance with examples of thisinvention, the top hemisphere 322 will include N dimple clusters 300,350 having their centers arranged 360/N degrees apart with respect to acircumferential direction around the top pole P of the ball 320, and thebottom hemisphere 324 will include M dimple clusters 300, 350 havingtheir centers arranged 360/M degrees apart with respect to acircumferential direction around the bottom pole P of the ball 320,wherein N=M and wherein N and M are integers between 2 and 20. Ifdesired, the centers of the dimple clusters 300, 350 in the tophemisphere 322 may be arranged 360/2N degrees apart from the centers ofthe dimple clusters 300, 350 in the bottom hemisphere 324 with respectto the circumferential direction around the ball. In some structures, Nand M may be integers between 2 and 12, or even integers between 2 and8.

FIGS. 4A and 4B show a top view and a front view, respectively, of analternative dimple cluster arrangement on a golf ball structure 400 thatmay be used in accordance with at least some examples of this invention.In this example ball structure 400, the centers C of at least two of thedimple clusters 300, 350 are aligned along a great circle GC extendingbetween the top pole P and the bottom pole P. Each dimple cluster 300,350 pair (i.e., one in the top hemisphere 322 and one in the bottomhemisphere 324) will be aligned in the manner shown. In this ballstructure 400, the various dimple clusters 300, 350 will be arrangedsymmetric about the ball's center point.

As noted above, in the specific dimple cluster arrangements of FIGS. 3Athrough 4B, all of the dimples in a given cluster may be non-uniformdimples. This is not a requirement. Rather, if desired, at least some ofthe dimples within a cluster may be conventional or uniform dimples.FIGS. 5 through 9 illustrate some examples of such dimple clusterarrangements, and these dimple cluster arrangements will be described inmore detail below.

As shown in FIGS. 5 through 7, these dimple cluster arrangements 500,600, and 700 have a series of six non-uniform dimples 502 arrangedimmediately adjacent one another and surrounding a central dimple 504(e.g., a uniform or conventional dimple). Each of the interior-mostnon-uniform dimples 502 in the example structure 500 of FIG. 5 has itsshallow end (as designated by the arrowhead in the dimple 502 (and whichmay correspond to the axis direction 102 shown in FIG. 2C)) arrangedclosest to the geometric center of the cluster (and closest to thegeometric center of the central uniform dimple 504). Additionally, eachof the interior-most non-uniform dimples 502 in the example structure500 of FIG. 5 has an immediately adjacent non-uniform dimple 506 thathas its symmetric axis 102 aligned with the symmetric axis 102 of itscorresponding interior-most non-uniform dimple 502. In the examplestructure shown in FIG. 5, the shallow ends of the exterior non-uniformdimples 506 are positioned in the opposite direction from the shallowends of the corresponding interior-most dimples 502 (i.e., with theshallow ends pointing away from the geometric center C of the dimplecluster in this example).

As shown in FIG. 5, the dimple cluster 500 is arranged in asubstantially hexagonal pattern (shown by the broken line). The areasbetween the immediately adjacent dimple sets 502 and 506 in this examplecluster 500 are occupied by one or more additional dimples 508, showngrayed in FIG. 5. The dimples 508 may be non-uniform dimples, uniformdimples, or some may be uniform and some non-uniform, without departingfrom this invention. Thus, this overall dimple cluster 500 contains atleast 12 non-uniform dimples 502 and 506 and at least 19 total dimples(although other dimple counts are possible without departing from thisinvention).

Optionally, if desired, one or more of the pairs of aligned non-uniformdimples 502 and 506 may be flip-flopped such that the shallow end ofeach non-uniform dimple 502 is located immediately adjacent the shallowend of its corresponding non-uniform dimple 506 (e.g., dimples 502 inFIG. 5 could have the structures and orientations of dimples 506 anddimples 506 in FIG. 5 could have the structures and orientations ofdimples 502).

FIG. 6 shows a similar hexagonal dimple cluster arrangement 600 to thatshown in FIG. 5, except in the arrangement 600 of FIG. 6, the shallowends of all the illustrated non-uniform dimples 502 and 506 (shown bythe arrowheads) are arranged closest to the geometric center C of thedimple cluster arrangement 600. Likewise, FIG. 7 shows a similarhexagonal dimple cluster arrangement 700 to those shown in FIGS. 5 and6, except in the arrangement 700 of FIG. 7, the shallow ends of all theillustrated non-uniform dimples 502 and 506 (shown by the arrowheads)are arranged furthest away from the geometric center C of the dimplecluster arrangement 700. The “grayed out” dimples in FIGS. 6 and 7 maybe non-uniform dimples, uniform dimples, or some may be uniform and somenon-uniform, without departing from this invention. Thus, these overalldimple clusters 600 and 700 contain at least 12 non-uniform dimples 502and 506 and at least 19 total dimples (although other dimple counts arepossible without departing from this invention).

FIG. 8 illustrates another, somewhat larger hexagonal dimple clusterarrangement 800. Like the arrangements shown in FIGS. 5 through 7, thedimple cluster arrangement 800 of FIG. 8 has a series of six non-uniformdimples 802 arranged immediately adjacent one another and surrounding acentral dimple 804 (e.g., a uniform or conventional dimple). Each of theinterior-most non-uniform dimples 802 in this example structure 800 hasits shallow end (as designated by the arrowhead in the dimple 802 (andwhich may correspond to the axis direction 102 shown in FIG. 2C))arranged closest to the geometric center of the cluster (and closest tothe geometric center of the central uniform dimple 804). Additionally,each of the interior-most non-uniform dimples 802 in the examplestructure 800 of FIG. 8 has an immediately adjacent non-uniform dimple806 that has its symmetric axis 102 aligned with the symmetric axis 102of its corresponding interior-most non-uniform dimple 802. In theexample structure shown in FIG. 8, the shallow ends of the non-uniformdimples 806 are aligned in the same direction with the shallow ends ofthe corresponding interior-most dimples 802 (i.e., with the shallow endspointing toward the geometric center C of the dimple cluster 800).Additionally, each of the non-uniform dimples 806 in the examplestructure 800 of FIG. 8 has an immediately adjacent non-uniform dimple808 that has its symmetric axis 102 aligned with the symmetric axis 102of its corresponding non-uniform dimples 802 and 806 to make an alignedset of non-uniform dimples 802, 806, and 808. In the example structureshown in FIG. 8, the shallow ends of the exterior non-uniform dimples808 are aligned in the same direction with the shallow ends of thecorresponding non-uniform dimples 802 and 806 within the same line(i.e., with the shallow ends pointing toward the geometric center C ofthe dimple cluster 800).

If desired, the shallow and deep ends of the various non-uniform dimples802, 806, and 808 may be aligned and/or oriented in different mannerswithout departing from this invention. As one more specific example, ifdesired, the aligned dimples 802, 806, and 808 may have their shallowends located as far as possible from the geometric center C of thedimple cluster 800. As another example, if desired, some sets of thealigned dimples 802, 806, and 808 may have their shallow ends located asfar as possible from the geometric center C of the dimple cluster 800while other sets of aligned dimples 802, 806, and 808 may have theirshallow ends located as close as possible to the geometric center C ofthe dimple cluster 800 (e.g., with one set of shallow ends aligned closeand one set of shallow ends align away from the geometric center C in analternating manner as one moves around the perimeter of the centerdimple 804). As yet another example, one or more shallow ends within aset of aligned dimples 802, 806, and 808 may be located close to thegeometric center C while one or more of the shallow ends of the othernon-uniform dimples within the set may be located away from thegeometric center C. Other arrangements of the shallow and deep ends ofthe non-uniform dimples are possible without departing from thisinvention.

As shown in FIG. 8, the dimple cluster 800 is arranged in asubstantially hexagonal pattern (shown by the broken line). The areasbetween the immediately adjacent dimple sets 802, 806, and 808 may beoccupied by one or more other dimples 810, shown grayed in FIG. 8. Thedimples 810 may be non-uniform dimples, uniform dimples, or some may besome combination of uniform and non-uniform dimples, without departingfrom this invention. Moreover, the dimples 810 on a given ball may havedifferent features (e.g., depth, radius, diameter, profile, etc.)without departing from this invention. Thus, this overall dimple cluster800 contains at least 18 non-uniform dimples 802, 806, and 808 and atleast 24 total dimples (although other dimple counts are possiblewithout departing from this invention).

Dimple clusters in accordance with examples of this invention may bearranged in any desired general polygon shape without departing fromthis invention, including, for example, polygons having from 3 to 12sides, and in some examples, polygons having from 3 to 10 sides or evenfrom 3 to 8 sides. FIG. 9 illustrates another example dimple clusterarrangement 900 in which a series of five non-uniform dimples 902 arearranged immediately adjacent one another and surrounding a centraldimple 904 (e.g., a uniform or conventional dimple). Each of theinterior-most non-uniform dimples 902 in this example structure 900 hasits shallow end (as designated by the arrowhead in the dimple 902 (andwhich may correspond to the axis direction 102 shown in FIG. 2C))arranged closest to the geometric center of the cluster 900 (and closestto the geometric center of the central uniform dimple 904).Additionally, each of the interior-most non-uniform dimples 902 in theexample structure 900 of FIG. 9 has an immediately adjacent non-uniformdimple 906 that has its symmetric axis 102 aligned with the symmetricaxis 102 of its corresponding interior-most non-uniform dimple 902. Inthe example structure shown in FIG. 9, the shallow ends of thenon-uniform dimples 906 are aligned in the same direction with theshallow ends of the corresponding interior-most dimples 902 (i.e., withthe shallow ends pointing toward the geometric center C of the dimplecluster 900). Other alignments and/or arrangements of the shallow anddeep ends of the individual dimples 902 and/or 906, includingarrangements similar to those shown and described above in conjunctionwith FIGS. 5-7, may be provided without departing from this invention.

Additionally, if desired, the dimple structure 900 could be expanded toinclude a third non-uniform dimple aligned with the dimples 902 and 906shown in FIG. 9 (e.g., akin to the three aligned non-uniform dimplestructures 802, 806, and 808 shown in FIG. 8). The shallow and deep endsof these aligned dimples may be arranged in any desired manner (e.g., asdescribed above with respect to FIG. 8) without departing from thisinvention.

As shown in FIG. 9, the dimple cluster 900 is arranged in asubstantially pentagonal pattern (shown by the broken line). The areasbetween the immediately adjacent dimple sets 902 and 906 may be occupiedby one or more other dimples 908, shown grayed in FIG. 9 (three dimples908 are shown between each immediately adjacent dimple set 902 and 906in this specific dimple arrangement 900). The dimples 908 may benon-uniform dimples, uniform dimples, or some may be some combination ofuniform and non-uniform dimples, without departing from this invention.Thus, this overall dimple cluster 900 contains at least 10 non-uniformdimples 902 and 906 and at least 16 total dimples (although other dimplecounts are possible without departing from this invention).

A wide variety of dimple cluster arrangements may be provided on golfball surfaces without departing from this invention, and each dimplecluster on a given ball structure need not have the same arrangement.FIGS. 10A and 10B illustrate top and front views, respectively, of agolf ball structure 1000 in which two different types of dimple clustersare provided on the ball structure 1000. More specifically, in thisillustrated example, the ball includes four generally triangulararrangements 1002 of non-uniform dimples (e.g., like those describedabove in conjunction with FIGS. 3A through 4B) and four generallypentagonal arrangements 1004 of non-uniform dimples (e.g., like thosedescribed above in conjunction with FIG. 9). For purposes of clarity,only the outlines of the dimple clusters 1002 and 1004 are shown inFIGS. 10A and 10B, and the individual dimples, both inside and outsidethe clusters 1002 and 1004, are not shown. If desired, more or fewerdimple clusters (including additional clusters of different types) maybe included on each hemisphere of the ball. Also, while the dimpleclusters 1002 and 1004 may be staggered from one another in the twohemispheres (e.g., as shown in FIG. 3D), in this illustrated exampleball structure 1000, the two different types of dimple clusters 1002 and1004 provided around the ball are aligned with one another over the twohemispheres and have their geometric centers C aligned along greatcircles GC that extend between the two poles P.

FIGS. 11A and 11B provide top and front views, respectively, of anotherexample arrangement of non-uniform dimple clusters on a golf ballstructure 1100. In the structure 1100 shown in FIGS. 11A and 11B, eachhemisphere 1102 and 1104 of the ball 1100 has a single (but relativelylarge) non-uniform dimple cluster. In this example, the cluster includeseight immediately adjacent non-uniform dimples 1106 arranged around thepole P, and each interior-most non-uniform dimple 1106 has fournon-uniform dimples 1108 aligned with it and aligned with the pole P.More or fewer non-uniform dimples 1108 may be provided in each linearset of non-uniform dimples 1106 and 1108 without departing from thisinvention. For purposes of clarity and to better illustrate thenon-uniform dimple clusters, other dimples are not shown on the ballstructure 1100, although those skilled in the art will recognize thatadditional dimples (uniform or non-uniform) may be provided in thesurface areas between the illustrated non-uniform dimples 1106 and 1108and over the pole area P. Also, while the dimple clusters are alignedbetween the two hemispheres 1102 and 1104 in the example structure 1100shown in FIGS. 11A and 11B (e.g., aligned along a great circle GCextending between the poles P), this is not a requirement. Rather, ifdesired, the dimple clusters may be staggered such that no great circleconnects the dimple clusters in an aligned set in the top hemisphere1102 with those in the bottom hemisphere 1104.

Relatively large and two (or three) dimensional non-uniform dimpleclusters are illustrated and described above in conjunction with FIGS.2A through 11B, but this also is not a requirement. Rather, if desired,the dimple clusters may be relatively small and linear, e.g., including2 to 10 aligned non-uniform dimples. FIGS. 12A and 12B illustrate topand front views of a golf ball structure 1200, respectively, includingsuch clusters. In the structure 1200 of FIGS. 12A and 12B, eachhemisphere 1202 and 1204 contains two different types of non-uniformdimple clusters 1206 and 1208, one cluster type 1206 having threealigned non-uniform dimples and the other cluster type 1208 having twoaligned non-uniform dimples. More specifically, in this illustratedexample, each hemisphere 1202 and 1204 includes eight 3-non-uniformdimple clusters 1206 and eight 2-non-uniform dimple clusters 1208 (for atotal of 40 non-uniform dimples in each hemisphere). For purposes ofclarity and to better illustrate the non-uniform dimple clusters, otherdimples are not shown on the ball structure 1200, although those skilledin the art will recognize that any desired number and arrangement ofadditional dimples (uniform or non-uniform) may be provided in thesurface areas between the illustrated non-uniform dimple clusters 1206and 1208. Also, while the dimple clusters 1206 and 1208 are alignedbetween the two hemispheres 1202 and 1204 in the example structure 1200shown in FIGS. 12A and 12B (e.g., aligned along a great circle GCextending between the poles P), this is not a requirement. Rather, ifdesired, the dimple clusters 1206 and 1208 may be staggered between thetwo hemispheres 1202 and 1204 such that no great circle connects thedimple clusters in the top hemisphere 1202 with those in the bottomhemisphere 1204.

In the various example structures disclosed above, the dimple clustersare arranged on the hemispheres of the ball such that they do not crossthe ball's equator (which may correspond to the mold parting line,although the mold parting line need not correspond to the ball'sequator, particularly if the ball is of a “seamless” design). This typeof arrangement is not a requirement. FIGS. 13A and 13B illustrate topand front views, respectively, of a golf ball structure 1300 in whichplural non-uniform dimple clusters 1302 extend across the equator E.While any desired non-uniform dimple cluster pattern(s) may be usedwithout departing from this invention (including plural differentpatterns on a single ball structure), in this illustrated examplestructure 1300, the clusters 1302 have a triangular arrangement ofnon-uniform dimples, e.g., like those described above in conjunctionwith FIGS. 3A through 4B.

Also, if desired, the pole areas P (shown as the north pole NP and thesouth pole SP) also may include non-uniform dimple clusters 1304. Whilethe pole oriented non-uniform dimple clusters 1304 may have the samepattern as the equator crossing non-uniform dimple clusters 1302, in theexample structure 1300 shown in FIGS. 13A and 13B, the pole orientednon-uniform dimple clusters 1304 differ in pattern from the equatorcrossing non-uniform dimple clusters 1302. The south pole non-uniformdimple cluster 1304 is shown in broken lines in FIG. 13A, to show thedifference in arrangement of the pole oriented dimple clusters 1304 inthis example ball 1300. If desired, the north and sole pole patterns maydiffer from one another.

A variety of non-uniform dimple clusters are described above. Theindividual non-uniform dimples within a given cluster may all have thesame structure and characteristics, but this is not a requirement.Rather, if desired, non-uniform dimples within an individual cluster mayhave different perimeter sizes (e.g., diameters or other dimensions),different perimeter edge shapes, different depths, different profiles,etc., without departing from this invention.

Additional aspects of this invention relate to methods of producing golfballs of any of the various types described above. Such methods mayinclude, for example: (a) forming a golf ball interior (e.g., includinga solid core having one or more independent layers, a thread wound core,a liquid-containing or gel-containing core, etc.); and (b) forming acover to enclose the golf ball interior, wherein the cover may include,for example, non-uniform dimple clusters, e.g., of the various typesdescribed above. The balls may be formed by forming the interior, e.g.,by injection molding, other molding techniques, casting, machiningand/or otherwise forming one or more layers of a solid core (e.g., foruse in making a two, three, four, five, or more piece golf ballconstruction). The interior of the golf ball may be made of rubber(natural or synthetic), elastomeric resins, or other desired materials(e.g., ionomer resins, thermoplastic materials (such as thermoplasticpolyurethanes, etc.) and the like). The ball interior also may be madeby casting the various layers of a solid ball, winding a rubber orelastomeric thread around a solid, liquid, or gel containing core, etc.These methods and materials used in making the core or other interiorlayers of the ball may be conventional and known in the art. Also, thevarious layers of the solid core or other interior ball constructionsmay have sizes, properties, constructions, thicknesses, and the like asare conventionally used and known in the art.

The cover layer for the golf ball (including the non-uniform dimpleclusters) may be formed in any desired manner without departing fromthis invention, including in conventional manners that are known andused in the art, such as by casting the cover, by molding the cover(e.g., injection molding), etc. The molds or other structures forforming the cover layer to include the non-uniform dimples may beproduced in any desired manner without departing from this invention,including through the use of molding, casting, machining, grinding, orother techniques, including through the use of precision grindingequipment for producing golf ball cover cavities, as are known and usedin the art. Such grinding equipment may be computer controlled andprogrammed to cut the various desired dimple pattern arrangements intothe interior cavity of the mold structure, in a manner that is known andconventionally used in the art.

The cover may be made from any desired materials without departing fromthis invention, such as from thermoplastic polyurethanes, ionomerresins, balata, etc., including materials that are conventionally knownand used in the golf ball art. In addition to the non-uniform dimpleclusters, such as those described above, the cover layer may have sizes,properties, constructions, thicknesses, and the like, as well as uniformor conventional dimples, as are conventionally used and known in theart.

Non-uniform dimples may have a wide variety of specific cross sectionalprofiles without departing from this invention. For example, if desired,the cross sectional profile may take on the general shape of a portionof a surface of an ellipse, parabola, hyperbola, etc. As additionalexamples, the shape delineated by the surface of the dimple at thecentral cross section thereof (e.g., a section taken along the dimple'scentral symmetric axis 102 as shown in FIG. 2C), or at least over thecentral part of the dimple away from the dimple perimeter (which may besomewhat rounded, if desired), may correspond to a graphicalrepresentation of a mathematical equation, such as a polynomial equationor a polynomial function (e.g., a second order or fourth orderpolynomial equation or function). FIGS. 14A and 14B illustrate someexample cross sectional profiles. For example, as shown in FIG. 14A, thedimple profile 1400 includes a singe local extrema (i.e., the maximumdepth point, corresponding to the overall dimple depth DD), and thesurface of the cross sectional profile 1400 of the dimple (at least atlocations somewhat removed from the immediate dimple perimeter P_(d),such as areas of the dimple profile below 10% of the overall dimpledepth) may correspond to a specific second order mathematical equationor function. The example dimple profile 1420 illustrated in FIG. 14B, onthe other hand, includes three local extrema E, and the surface of thecross sectional profile 1420 of the dimple (at least at locationssomewhat removed from the immediate dimple perimeter P_(d), such asareas of the dimple profile below 10% of the overall dimple depth) maycorrespond to a specific fourth order mathematical equation or function.Above 10% of the overall dimple depth, the dimple may be constructed sothat the dimple surface flows smoothly into the cover and outercurvature of the ball, and this smoothing out or curving near the dimpleedges may alter the dimple surface at the edges away from themathematical equation or function described above. The inclusion of morethan one local extrema E in a non-uniform dimple profile providesinternal surface changes and structure within the dimple pattern and canbe used to produce interesting visual and aesthetically pleasing dimpleconstructions, as well as surfaces to affect the lift, drag, and/orother aerodynamic characteristics of the ball.

CONCLUSION

Many modifications to the specifically described structures, systems,and methods may take place without departing from this invention. Forexample, while the invention has been described with respect to specificexamples including presently preferred modes of carrying out theinvention, those skilled in the art will appreciate that there arenumerous variations, combinations, and permutations of the abovedescribed structures and methods. Moreover, various specific structuralfeatures included in the examples merely represent examples ofstructural features that may be included in some examples of structuresaccording to the invention. Those skilled in the art will understandthat various specific structural features may be omitted and/or modifiedin a golf ball product without departing from the invention. Thus, thereader should understand that the spirit and scope of the inventionshould be construed broadly as set forth in the appended claims.

I claim:
 1. A golf ball, comprising: a golf ball body including a coverhaving a plurality of dimples arranged on an exterior surface thereof,wherein from 5 to 95% of the dimples have a non-uniform dimple profile,and wherein at least a majority of the dimples having a non-uniformdimple profile on the golf ball body are arranged in 2-24 repeatingdimple clusters on the exterior surface.
 2. A golf ball according toclaim 1, wherein the exterior surface includes 4-12 dimple clusters. 3.A golf ball according to claim 1, wherein the golf ball body includes afirst pole, a second pole opposite the first pole, and an equator evenlyspaced between the first and second poles so as to divide the golf ballbody into a first hemisphere including the first pole and a secondhemisphere including the second pole, wherein the first hemisphereincludes three dimple clusters evenly spaced around the first pole, andwherein the second hemisphere includes three dimple clusters evenlyspaced around the second pole.
 4. A golf ball according to claim 3,wherein centers of the dimple clusters in the first hemisphere do notalign with centers of the dimple clusters in the second hemisphere alongany great circle extending between the first pole and the second pole.5. A golf ball according to claim 1, wherein the golf ball body includesa first pole, a second pole opposite the first pole, and an equatorevenly spaced between the first and second poles so as to divide thegolf ball body into a first hemisphere including the first pole and asecond hemisphere including the second pole, wherein the firsthemisphere includes six dimple clusters evenly spaced around the firstpole, and wherein the second hemisphere includes six dimple clustersevenly spaced around the second pole.
 6. A golf ball according to claim5, wherein centers of the dimple clusters in the first hemisphere do notalign with centers of the dimple clusters in the second hemisphere alongany great circle extending between the first pole and the second pole.7. A golf ball according to claim 1, wherein the golf ball body includesa first pole, a second pole opposite the first pole, and an equatorevenly spaced between the first and second poles so as to divide thegolf ball body into a first hemisphere including the first pole and asecond hemisphere including the second pole, wherein the firsthemisphere includes N dimple clusters having their centers arranged360/N degrees apart with respect to a circumferential direction of theball, wherein the second hemisphere includes M dimple clusters havingtheir centers arranged 360/M degrees apart with respect to thecircumferential direction, wherein N=M, wherein N and M are integersbetween 2 and 20, and wherein centers of the dimple clusters in thefirst hemisphere are arranged 360/2N degrees apart from the centers ofthe dimple clusters in the second hemisphere with respect to thecircumferential direction of the ball.
 8. A golf ball according to claim1, wherein each dimple having a non-uniform dimple profile includes adeep side and a shallow side.
 9. A golf ball according to claim 8,wherein the shallow side of each dimple having a non-uniform dimpleprofile is arranged so as to be closest to a geometric center of thedimple cluster in which it is contained.
 10. A golf ball according toclaim 8, wherein the deep side of each dimple having a non-uniformdimple profile is arranged so as to be closest to a geometric center ofthe dimple cluster in which it is contained.
 11. A golf ball accordingto claim 8, wherein, for each dimple cluster, a first portion of thedimples having a non-uniform dimple profile in the dimple cluster arearranged to have their shallow side closest to a geometric center of thedimple cluster, and a second portion of the dimples having a non-uniformdimple profile in the dimple cluster are arranged to have their deepside closest to the geometric center of the dimple cluster.
 12. A golfball according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of the dimple clustershave an overall pentagonal configuration.
 13. A golf ball according toclaim 1, wherein a plurality of the dimple clusters have an overallhexagonal configuration.
 14. A golf ball according to claim 1, whereinthe plurality of dimples includes: (a) a first dimple cluster having aplurality of dimples having a non-uniform dimple profile surrounding asingle dimple having a uniform dimple profile, and (b) a second dimplecluster having a plurality of dimples having a non-uniform dimpleprofile surrounding a single dimple having a uniform dimple profile. 15.A golf ball according to claim 14, wherein the first dimple clusterincludes five or six dimples having a non-uniform dimple profilesurrounding the single dimple having a uniform dimple profile, andwherein the second dimple cluster includes five or six dimples having anon-uniform dimple profile surrounding the single dimple having auniform dimple profile.
 16. A golf ball according to claim 1, whereinall dimple clusters on the exterior surface have the same patternarrangement.
 17. A golf ball according to claim 1, wherein the golf ballbody includes a first pole, a second pole opposite the first pole, andan equator evenly spaced between the first and second poles so as todivide the golf ball body into a first hemisphere including the firstpole and a second hemisphere including the second pole, wherein thefirst hemisphere includes a first dimple cluster having a first dimplecluster pattern arrangement and a second dimple cluster having a seconddimple cluster pattern arrangement that differs from the first dimplecluster pattern arrangement, and wherein the second hemisphere includesa third dimple cluster having the first dimple cluster patternarrangement and a fourth dimple cluster having the second dimple clusterpattern arrangement.
 18. A golf ball, comprising: a core including oneor more individual parts; and a cover member enclosing the core, whereinthe golf ball includes a first hemisphere and a second hemisphere,wherein the cover member includes 2-9 repeating non-uniform dimpleclusters arranged around the first hemisphere, wherein each non-uniformdimple cluster in the first hemisphere includes from 2 to 36 non-uniformdimples arranged such that each non-uniform dimple in the cluster islocated immediately adjacent at least one other non-uniform dimple inthe cluster; wherein a majority of the non-uniform dimples in eachcluster have an axis of symmetry, a first end centered on the axis ofsymmetry, and a second end centered on the axis of symmetry; and whereinthe first end is deeper than or has a steeper entry angle than thesecond end, wherein the cover member includes 2-9 repeating non-uniformdimple clusters arranged around the second hemisphere, wherein eachnon-uniform dimple cluster in the second hemisphere includes from 2 to36 non-uniform dimples arranged such that each non-uniform dimple in thecluster is located immediately adjacent at least one other non-uniformdimple in the cluster; wherein a majority of the non-uniform dimples ineach cluster have an axis of symmetry, a first end centered on the axisof symmetry, and a second end centered on the axis of symmetry; andwherein the first end is deeper than or has a steeper entry angle thanthe second end, and wherein at least one of the 2-9 non-uniform dimpleclusters in the first hemisphere is arranged in a first pattern and atleast one of the 2-9 non-uniform dimple clusters in the secondhemisphere is arranged in the first pattern.
 19. A golf ball accordingto claim 18, wherein the first pattern is a generally hexagonalarrangement containing the non-uniform dimples in the cluster.
 20. Agolf ball according to claim 18, wherein the first pattern is agenerally pentagonal arrangement containing the non-uniform dimples inthe cluster.
 21. A golf ball according to claim 18, wherein the firstpattern is a generally linear alignment of the non-uniform dimples inthe cluster, wherein the non-uniform dimples in the generally linearalignment have their respective axes of symmetry aligned.
 22. A golfball according to claim 21, wherein the first ends of each non-uniformdimple in the generally linear alignment face the same direction.
 23. Agolf ball according to claim 21, wherein the first ends of twoimmediately adjacent non-uniform dimples in the generally linearalignment face in opposite directions.
 24. A golf ball according toclaim 21, wherein the first ends of two immediately adjacent non-uniformdimples in the generally linear alignment face in the same direction.25. A golf ball according to claim 18, wherein the axes of symmetry ofthe non-uniform dimples in the first hemisphere are arranged to pointtoward a geometric center of the dimple cluster in which the non-uniformdimples are contained.
 26. A golf ball according to claim 25, whereinthe first end of each non-uniform dimple having the axis of symmetry isarranged to be located as close as possible to the geometric center ofthe dimple cluster in which it is contained.
 27. A golf ball accordingto claim 25, wherein the first end of each non-uniform dimple having theaxis of symmetry is arranged to be located as far as possible from thegeometric center of the dimple cluster in which it is contained.
 28. Agolf ball according to claim 25, wherein a first portion of the dimplesin a cluster having axes of symmetry are arranged such that their firstends are located as close as possible to the geometric center of thedimple cluster in which they are contained, and wherein a second portionof the dimples in a cluster having axes of symmetry are arranged suchthat their first ends are located as far as possible from the geometriccenter of the dimple cluster in which they are contained.
 29. A golfball according to claim 18, wherein each non-uniform dimple cluster onthe cover member has the same pattern.
 30. A golf ball according toclaim 18, wherein each non-uniform dimple cluster includes from 6 to 24dimples having a non-uniform dimple profile.
 31. A golf ball accordingto claim 18, wherein the first hemisphere further includes at least onenon-uniform dimple cluster having a second pattern that differs from thefirst pattern, and wherein the second hemisphere further includes atleast one non-uniform dimple cluster having the second pattern.